CERE Concludes at IIM Indore

The four day Conference on Excellence in Research and Education (CERE) concluded at IIM Indore on Sunday, May 8, 2017. The conference witnessed more than 90 paper presentations by around 160+ participants from various Institute across the nation. The participants got an opportunity to interact with experts from various fields, gather knowledge from keynote addresses by specialists and attend the workshop on various topics ranging from research to IT.

The third day of the conference witnessed a Keynote Address by Professor RajendraSrivastav, ISB Hyderabad. He spoke on the topic - ‘Challenges in Education and Research in Context of Emerging Markets’. His talk revolved around challenges like relevance of management research in the current business context and lack of focus on emerging markets. Sharing a few initiatives taken by ISB to overcome the challenges, Professor Srivastav also discussed about various trends in the local market and how to understand them. The session was followed by Q&A.

The last workshop of the conference was on the topic- ‘Science and Scientific Writing’ conducted by Professor Ramadhar Singh, Ahmedabad University. The workshop provided insights to the do’s and don’ts of academic research writing. Professor Singh also shared guidelines on making research and doctoral thesis more publishable, and how research papers should be structured and written in the best possible way.

The last day of the conference witnessed a Doctoral Colloquium followed by valedictory function. The guests of the function were Professor Kamal K. Jain, Dean (Academic), IIM Indore and Professor PatturajaSelvaraj, Chair, FPM, IIM Indore. Professor Jain discussed various malpractices in research and its affects. He noted that education isn’t about delivery, it is about learning—and this is what the conference aims on. ‘The conference had its first edition in the year 2009 and the number of papers received during the years have increased. This year over 160 papers were received, out of which only 90 were shortlisted and presented in the conference’, he said. He thanked all the participants and the organizing committee for their efforts in making the conference a success.

The participants then also shared their views about the conference and how much it helped in gaining knowledge and enhancing their research skills.

This was followed by the declaration of the Best Paper Awards. The CERE Advisory Committee consisting of a panel of five membered IIM Indore faculty selected the best paper on the basis of originality, methodological rigor, its contribution to the literature and relevance to the industry. The winners received certificates and a cash prize of Rs. 30,000. The Best Papers we given under three categories as follows:

General Track - Paper by SaswatPatra and Malay Bhattacharya from IIM Bangalore on the topic—‘First Passage Time Probabilities for Pearson Diffusion Process with Application to Options’.

Contingency Track - Paper by Harpreet Singh Bedi from Lovely Professional University on the topic—‘A Contingency Approach to Entrepreneurial Orientation—Business Performance Relationship’.

Best Paper Award for Doctoral Colloquium - Paper by SonalThukral from Sriram College of Commerce on the topic—‘Financing Pattern of Outward Foreign Direct Investment by Indian Multinational Enterprises’.

Conference Coordinator, Shweta Gupta then gave the vote of thanks. The conference concluded with lot of enthusiasm among the participants, who got an opportunity to learn skills for better research and publications.